Audacious Insolence
by Tanglepelt
Summary: -Sequel to Clouded Conciousness- Russia takes one of Latvia's punishments too far, and Estonia steps in to protect his friend. Unfortunately, he pays the price for it, and learns firsthand the pain that Latvia experiences. -Not yaoi- -Soviet Union era-


Hello! This is a sequel to 'Clouded Consciousness', so it will make more sense of you read that one first!

This story contains brotherly love between Estonia and Latvia. (It should not be taken as yaoi.)

It takes place during the Soviet Union era, so Russia's very cruel to the Baltics.

I don't own Hetalia. (Dang...)

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><p>Audacious Insolence<p>

Estonia woke up the next morning to find Latvia still curled up against him. The smaller boy's face looked innocent in sleep, all stress and sadness gone.

_Why can't he always look like this? _The older of the two sighed, weaving his fingers through his friend's pale curls.

Seeing the sky lighten through the bedroom's one tiny window, Estonia forced his closing eyes open. He didn't want to, but he knew he had to wake Latvia up. If they weren't downstairs by seven, Russia would barge into the room and force them up. This had happened only one time, and it wasn't pleasant. There was a lot of screaming, but the two younger boys had gotten away unscathed. Lithuania, the eldest, however, was seen hours after the incident with a black eye and bruises on his jaw and neck.

Shuddering at the memory, the taller blond placed his hands on Latvia's shoulders and gently shook him.

In the blink of an eye, the younger boy's innocent expression turned into one of pure fear. His pale blue eyes snapped open and automatically filled with tears.

Since they were sleeping so close together, Estonia could feel his friend's heart pounding and his body shaking. "Latvia, it's only me. Don't be frightened," he whispered.

The small blond visibly relaxed, though he continued to shake. "Do we really have to work today? It's Saturday."

"Of course we do. You know how Russia is."

Latvia stiffened at the larger man's name, and his trembling increased. "That's right," he murmured, placing a hand on his bandaged chest. He shakily slid out of bed and changed into new clothes. Estonia did the same. After he put his glasses on, he realized that the younger boy's shaking hands made it impossible for him to button his shirt correctly. Sighing, he walked over to his frightened friend and fixed the alignment of the buttons.

"Thanks," Latvia whispered, his eyes never meeting Estonia's.

Once the two ate a quick breakfast, it was time for them to begin their tasks, each going off in a different direction.

Three hours had passed since Estonia had begun cleaning the various rooms of what he called the Soviet Union mansion. He was about to enter one of Russia's many offices when he heard a harsh voice coming from it.

_Russia, _Estonia realized. He knew that he should clean another room, but his curiosity beat his rational side. He leaned closer to the door to listen in on the cold man's conversation.

"_Nyet_, there's no compromise! He's coming back tomorrow!"

There was a pause, presumably so the person he was talking to could answer.

"You don't seem to understand, _America_, he's no longer sovereign. He's the Lithuanian SSR. He belongs to me."

Estonia felt sickened when he realized Russia was talking about Lithuania.

"…Absolutely not! He has no say in this; every part of him, his body, mind, and spirit, belongs to me. Return him at once!"

The middle Baltic heard something crash against a wall, and clenched his fists.

"…Oh, really? …If he's not returned to me by tomorrow night, I'll get him myself. I'll make him wish he had never been created! Tell me, _Alfred_, do you really want to be responsible for that?"

Estonia turned away when Russia started listing the ways he'd destroy the brunet's spirit. He didn't want to listen anymore. He just made it into another office when the door slammed open.

The bespectacled boy watched as the large man stormed out of the room, the look on his face pure rage. Ice filled his chest when a sudden realization hit him. _If he finds Latvia, he'll probably hurt him. _He knew that the smallest of their trio was unintentionally blunt, blurting out things that could potentially be offensive. Another thought made his heartbeat quicken. _Russia's so angry right now; anything could send him into a rage. He'd probably just attack anyone who's unlucky enough to be near him. _

He knew that he had to find his friend, and fast.

/

Latvia smiled to himself as he stood on his tiptoes, a glass plate in his hands. _After I shelve this one, I'm done! _He wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep, but he knew that was impossible while 'working' at Russia's house. _At least I'll be able to move into a different room. _For some reason, the formal dining room scared him, especially when he was alone in it.

He was about to place the plate on the top shelf of the tall cabinet when the door slammed open.

"Latvia!" Russia barked as he strode into the room.

Startled, the small blond dropped the plate. Since his legs reflexively shook, he grabbed onto the shelf to keep his balance. Because of the extra weight, the shelf broke, spilling all of the glasses, plates, and bowls onto the ground.

Latvia winced at the sound of shattering glass. Too scared to look at Russia, he looked down at all the broken glass.

Suddenly, the tall man grabbed his chin, forcing blue eyes to meet violet. "You're very clumsy, little Latvia."

The smaller boy's shaking increased, and his eyes watered. "I'm s-s-sorry, Mr. R-Russia," he stuttered.

A smile appeared on the Russian's face, and he let go of Latvia, instead grabbing the heavy faucet pipe he kept in one of his thick coat's many pockets.

Thinking he was going to be hit, the Latvian yelped and jumped backwards. However, the violet-eyed man brought the pipe down onto the glass, shattering it further. After he was finished, he moved the broken pieces into some sort of path, and pointed the pipe at the trembling blond.

"You know what happens next, yes?" Russia chirped, the smile still on his face. "Remove your shoes and socks."

"Oh, God." The tears began to flow freely down the smaller boy's face. "Please don't make me do this! I'm so sorry!" He knew what was going to happen; Russia was going to make him walk across the shards. This had happened twice before, and he still had scars on his feet from it. He knelt down in front of the tall man's feet, bowing until his nose touched his boots.

"Get up; you're pathetic," the Russian spat, nudging the prone boy's side.

Latvia obliged.

"If you don't want to walk across the shards, I could always make you eat them. Wouldn't that be fun?"

The younger boy gasped again. He didn't want any more scars on his feet, but he knew that the second option was far worse. Whimpering, he shakily unzipped his boots and removed them, as well as his socks. "H-how many t-times?"

"Until I tell you to stop," was the large man's answer. "You need to learn to be less clumsy, my small friend."

Clenching his teeth, Latvia hesitantly placed his right foot on the path of glass. He felt the sharp edges digging into his skin, and he resisted the desire to remove it. Shakily placing his left foot in front of the right, he began the painful journey.

After the third time walking across the glass, he let a pained whimper escape his lips. He didn't know how much more he could take. After the seventh time, his legs gave out and he collapsed.

"Get up," Russia commanded.

Even if Latvia wanted to, he couldn't. He let out a pained whine when the tall blond kicked him in the ribs, making him roll onto the glass.

He tried to lift his head, but the older man pressed his boot onto it, making the glass painfully dig into the right side of his face. "Please, stop!" he cried.

He was met with more pressure on his head. He closed his eyes so that the glass would not injure them.

Latvia wasn't an extremely religious person, but he murmured prayers in his own language: for him to pass out, for Russia to get bored, for Estonia to find him.

"Shut up!" snapped the Russian, kicking him again and again. "You still haven't learned your lesson!"

Removing his foot from the smaller boy's head, he grabbed his left wrist, the thinness of it being apparent when his hand was able to reach all around it easily. Wrenching it behind his back, he murmured, "You shouldn't have been so stupid, little one." Stretching the boy's arm as far as it would go, he lifted his foot and aligned it with it. Then, he brought it down with as much force as he could muster.

Feeling his arm break, Latvia screamed in agony, thrashing around. "Estonia!" he cried. "Where are you?"

Russia just laughed, placing a foot on his victim's back. "He won't come; he never does."

As more pressure was added to his spine, Latvia cried more, because he knew the larger man was right.

/

Estonia ran down the stairs as fast as he could when he heard the sound of glass breaking. He didn't know which room the noise came from, so he searched them all. When he finally realized the dining room was the one he was looking for, he worried that he was too late.

He was. He quietly snuck into the room and hid behind the table just in time to see Russia kick the smaller boy onto a pathway of broken glass.

The bespectacled boy watched in morbid fascination as the large man stepped on his friend's head, forcing his face into the glass. He had only heard Russia's 'punishments'; he'd never actually seen them.

Even after a minute of watching, he was already sickened. Besides the blood on Latvia's face, there was more on his feet, spilling from deep cuts. He noticed that there were also shards of glass in these wounds, and felt even more nauseous.

Wringing his hands, he didn't know what to do. He said that he would help the next time the smaller boy was in danger, but he was terrified of Russia's anger to step in.

He was snapped out of his internal debate when an agonized scream echoed throughout the room.

"Estonia!" his friend wailed. "Where are you?"

"He won't come," Russia smirked. "He never does."

This was like a slap in the face to Estonia. All uncertainty left him; he knew what he had to do.

Using his anger to his advantage, the middle Baltic stood up and ran towards Russia. When he reached the older man, he lunged at him, knocking him to the ground.

"Stop it!" he hissed, grabbing onto the violet-eyed man's scarf. "Leave him alone!"

Russia just laughed and sat up. "Oh, this is rich! _Estonia _is actually standing up to me. What makes you think I'll listen to you?"

Removing the smaller blond's hands from the scarf, he proceeded to pick up the faucet pipe that he had left on the floor.

"Since a nation can't die, I wonder what would happen if their skull was shattered!"

Estonia closed his eyes, thinking that he was going to be hit. When the pain never came, he opened his eyes, just in time to see the heavy weapon swing towards the semiconscious Latvia.

Adrenaline kicked in, and Estonia stumbled to his feet. He ran between his friend and Russia, grabbing the pipe just as it was about to hit its target.

The taller man's eyes widened with shock. "What?"

Using this to his advantage, Estonia wrenched the pipe out of Russia's hands, tossing it across the room.

Kneeling down, the bespectacled boy glanced at Latvia. The younger boy's face was a mixture of blood and tears, and his pale blue eyes were unfocused. His left arm was bruised and swollen, and Estonia knew it was broken. When he brushed his friend's hair aside, he winced and whimpered, more tears spilling down his face.

Removing his hand, he turned to Russia, who was smirking at the whole scene. "Are you proud?"

"Proud of what?" asked the Russian, his voice mocking.

"You tortured a child and broke his spirit. Are you proud of that?"

"You know as well as I do, dear Estonia, that he's no child."

Gently gathering the semiconscious boy into his arms, he stood up. "You're right. Because of you, he's not."

With that, Estonia left the room.

/

Placing Latvia on their bed, the middle Baltic ran to the bathroom to get the first aid kit. _I'll bandage the cuts first, then work on his arm._

"This is going to sting, but you'll feel better later."

Latvia said nothing, his eyes not even blinking.

Not waiting for an answer, Estonia sat on the bed and used tweezers to gently remove all the glass from his friend's face and feet. Once this was done, he poured some rubbing alcohol on a rag. "If it gets to be too much, just grab my hand and I'll stop."

Once again, no response.

The bespectacled by began to clean the cuts, but stopped when Latvia's whimpers started to get loud. "I'm sorry."

"No, you're just trying to help," the youngest of the Baltics whispered.

"That's not what I meant." Estonia was glad that the smaller boy started talking again, though he was worried about how weak his voice sounded. "I'm sorry I didn't step in fast enough."

"But you stepped in," replied Latvia. "You stood up to _Russia _for me. I can never repay you for that." His eyes were dull, but his voice wasn't. "Lithuania never even did that for me." He wrapped his undamaged arm around Estonia's chest, pulling him closer. "Thank you for caring."

"Raivis…" Estonia didn't know what to say, so he used his friend's human name.

He realized he forgot to fix the younger boy's arm, and gently removed his other one from around him. Taking a roll of bandages out of the first aid kit, he grabbed Latvia's hand. "I'm going to wrap your arm now. It will hurt, but the closer I get the bones aligned, the straighter it will heal."

Since they were nations, their injuries healed faster than humans', but if broken bones weren't set correctly, they would heal crookedly, or worse.

Latvia nodded, and Estonia began working. The smaller blond cried out once or twice, but the older of the two kept going. When he was done, he grabbed the piece of wood he used to put his glasses on when he slept and broke it in half. _This'll make a decent splint._

He placed one half above his friend's arm and the other below it. Using one hand to hold them in place, he wrapped the bandages around them. When he was finished, he tightened the bandages, causing Latvia to squeak in pain.

"Sorry," he muttered. Though he had only been up for four or five hours (he couldn't exactly remember), he was tired.

Not caring what would happen to him since he didn't finish his work, he put his glasses on the floor and climbed into his bed.

A few seconds later, he felt Latvia embrace him with his good arm, his face buried in his shirt. Returning the embrace, the older of the two wrapped his arms around the younger. After a minute, they were both asleep.

/

Estonia didn't know what time it was when he woke up, but it was dark. Squinting, he saw that Latvia was still asleep next to him. Noticing that the first aid kit was still on the floor, he sighed. _If I don't put it back, Russia will come looking for it. _

He really didn't want to get out of bed, but he knew that he had to. _I'm just glad he hasn't come after us yet._

Gently removing Latvia's arm from around him, he rubbed his eyes and slid out of their bed. He grabbed the small box and walked to the bathroom. Once it was put in its proper place, he turned to leave. Just as he stepped outside the threshold, a hand shot out of the darkness and grabbed his wrist.

"You're coming with me, da?" a familiar voice hissed.

Though he couldn't see very well without his glasses, he knew the voice—and the hand—belonged to Russia. He did not resist when the larger man dragged him down the hallway; he didn't want to risk Latvia waking up and getting caught in another fight.

His eyes widened when he realized where Russia was taking him. His room: the only place he, Latvia, and Lithuania have never cleaned. _What's going on?_

As soon as both nations passed through the doorway, Russia turned on the light and slammed it shut.

"Aren't you going to ask me why you're here?" the violet-eyed nation said, smirking.

Estonia didn't dare answer; he knew the Russian liked to play mind games. A stinging pain on the right side of his face brought him back to reality.

"I asked for an answer, Estonia."

The younger blond realized that he had just been slapped. "I have no idea, Mr. Russia," he said softly.

"See? That's better!" The smile was back on the Russian's face. "Since you asked so politely, I'll tell you. You're here because you were so very impolite to me today."

The older man's voice took on a dangerously sweet tone. "You interfered with my…discussion…with young Latvia, so you must be punished."

Estonia knew that whatever happened, he was going to be hurt, but he vowed to stay silent. _I will not drag Raivis into this. _

"You were always the most well-behaved boy, Estonia," Russia's voice turned dark. "What happened?"

For once, the Estonian allowed himself to respond to a question angrily. "Because Latvia's my friend; I won't allow you to hurt him any more."

As soon as the last words left his lips, Russia lunged at him, knocking him against the wall. When his head met the concrete, he bit his lip to keep from crying out.

Before he could even attempt to stand up, Russia's hand wrapped around his throat, pulling him forward. "Whatever pain you feel, you brought it upon yourself."

He released Estonia, who fell to the ground gasping. The tall man used this to his advantage, kicking the younger boy in the ribs and stomach. He repeated this until the smaller blond whimpered, curling himself into a ball.

_Latvia, _he thought, pain worsening his already bad vision, _how do you manage to deal with this day after day?_

He felt Russia kneel down and grab his chin. "Looks like you're weaker than little Latvia. Interesting."

Estonia could smell the vodka on his tormentor's breath, and shuddered when he whispered, "You're being audaciously insolent today. I'll make sure you'll never want to act that way again."

He kicked the boy once more before pulling something out of his jacket.

_No! _Though he couldn't see clearly, Estonia knew exactly what Russia was holding. He slowly sat up, only to be knocked down again when the pipe met his shoulder. Gasping, his eyes snapped open. He saw the weapon swing down once more, this time hitting his leg.

After that, the hits became more frequent and more forceful, eliciting more gasps and whimpers from him whenever the heavy metal met his body.

Unable to move, he could only watch as the pipe swung forward and collided with the side of his head, making a sickening thunk. He could no longer hold back his cries, he screamed as loud as he could, as though it would lessen the pain. Tears streamed down his face, and he grabbed at his head, trying to make the pain go away.

Through his hazy vision, he saw Russia fall to his knees and collapse, the pipe still in his hands.

Still holding his head, Estonia scrambled to his feet and slammed open the door, running out of the room. He knew that Russia had passed out from drinking so much, but didn't know when he would wake up.

Though his running was erratic, he quickened his pace, and finally made it back inside his room.

He looked up, his own navy eyes meeting Latvia's pale blue ones.

"Eduard," the smaller boy said softly. "What did he do to you?"

Estonia said nothing, sliding under the covers and crying into his pillow.

After a moment, he felt Latvia's uninjured arm drape across his shoulders, and he sat up, embarrassed that his eyes were swollen and that his face was streaked with tears.

The small blond removed his arm and gently wiped the tears away, his eyes watering as well.

"Thank you," Estonia whispered.

Suddenly, a burst of pain exploded in his head, and he cried out, falling back on the bed. The last thing he saw was Latvia's terrified face.

/

Lithuania's hands shook as he grabbed the heavy door knockers. He had just gotten off of America's private airplane, and was very nervous. He didn't want to be back here so soon, but Russia forced his loud friend to send him back. Just before he left, America placed a hand on his shoulder, looking serious for once.

_"Stay strong. No matter what he does to you, remember who you are." _

_He grabbed onto the shorter man's hand. "I have always considered you to be independent. …And one of my closest friends. Goodbye, Toris." _

Lithuania blinked the tears out of his eyes and knocked on the door.

A few seconds later, the heavy door was wrenched open by an exhausted-looking Latvia. One arm was in a sling, and there were deep cuts on his face.

His protective instincts kicked in, and he rushed inside. "What happened?"

Looking around, he realized that something was wrong. Someone was missing. "Latvia? Where's Estonia?"

The small blond's eyes widened. "F-follow me."

His stomach clenching, he followed the Latvian up the stairs towards their bedroom. His fears were confirmed when he saw the bed. Estonia was asleep, but he looked frail and pale. Bruises covered his neck and arms, and the eldest Baltic suspected that there were more under the blond's clothes.

"What happened?" Lithuania asked after a moment of speechlessness. He had a guess, but he didn't want to assume the worst.

"Eduard, I mean _Estonia, _stopped Russia from breaking my spine and hitting my head. He, he went after him later, to p-punish him," explained Latvia. "I think Russia hit his head with the pipe; when he ran back here last night, he was grabbing it."

Ice filled the brunet. Nation or not, head injuries were serious, and healed the slowest. "Let me see."

The youngest of the trio nodded, moving aside. Lithuania took his place. Sitting on the bed, he gently felt Estonia's head, only removing his hand when the blond moaned in his sleep. "He was most likely hit here." He pointed to the left side of his head.

Pulling the middle Baltic's eyelids up, Lithuania's stomach churned. "His pupils are unequal sizes." Turning to Latvia, whose head was tilted in confusion, he asked, "How was his balance when he came in here last night?"

"It was pretty bad; he was stumbling all over the place."

"I think he might have a concussion," stated the older boy. "That's really bad; he should really be checked out by a doctor."

"B-but Russia would never let a doctor come here!" gasped the small blond, his trembling increasing.

"I know. His balance, vision, and hearing will most likely be affected for three weeks. He'll also be quite nauseous and sensitive to bright lights," stated Lithuania.

"How do you know all this?"

"Experience." He didn't want to say any more, so he left it as that.

Latvia, sensing this, let the subject drop. Instead, he climbed onto the bed on the other side of Estonia, curling up close to him.

Lithuania took note of this, as well as when the small blond called Estonia by his human name. _They've gotten closer. _

He knew that Latvia would be colder to him; he was expecting this. (He did leave him with Russia, after all.) However, he couldn't help but feel a little jealous at the youngest Baltic's attachment to the middle one. He felt like a third wheel, and wished he was back with America. _That's never going to happen again._

Sighing, Lithuania turned off the light and left the room, closing the door behind him. He knew from experience that he had to find Russia before the violet-eyed man found him.

End.

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><p>Hopefully, that wasn't too horrible.<p>

Here are some notes:

I went with the anime's designs of the characters (which is why Latvia has pale blue eyes instead of violet).

During the Soviet Union era, Lithuania was known as the Lithuanian SSR. It, as well as the other Baltics, belonged to the USSR. They were **illegally** occupied by the Soviets.

During this era, America always considered the Baltics as soverign, independent nations.

I hope you enjoyed the one-shot!


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